How to Save Money While Travelling: A Simple Tip That Will Transform Your Trip

Travel can get expensive quickly, especially when dining out for every meal. However, one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to save money on the road is by skipping the restaurants now and then. Instead, make a point to visit local grocery stores, markets, bakeries, and farm stands. Not only will this lighten the load on your wallet, but it can also create some of the most memorable moments of your trip!

Grocery Stores and Markets: A New Travel Experience

Exploring foreign grocery stores is an adventure on its own! It’s always fun to see what’s different from home, and you might stumble across unique snacks or ingredients that add a local flavour to your meals. You might be surprised at how much fun you can have exploring a grocery store in a different country or city. This is how we stumbled onto our favourite chocolate: Tony’s Chocolonely while checking out the snack aisle in a grocery store in Windsor, England.

Markets and bakeries, on the other hand, offer fresh and often locally sourced options that are great for picnics, charcuterie dinners, or snacks on the go and have some of the freshest food you will find.

Some of our family’s best travel memories come from a simple picnic in a beautiful or unusual spot. My favourite so far- enjoying a sunset picnic at the top of the Haleakala Crater in Maui. The breathtaking view and fresh local food made it a moment I’ll never forget. My daughter still asks me to recreate the chicken pita wraps we made for our picnic that day. I’m not sure why they stuck out in her memory but the experience combined with the picnic seems to have created a pretty amazing memory. For more on Maui, check out our Good Eats post.

Farm stands are another great way to eat like a local. Depending on where you are visiting, check out what’s in season and try something new.

Where to Eat: Ask the Locals

When you do decide to eat out, there’s a tried and true way to get the best experience without paying inflated tourist prices: ask the locals where they go. I’ve found that asking the people you meet—whether it’s the hotel staff, shop owners, or even people you encounter in parks or markets—can lead to some of the best dining experiences. Whether it’s a hidden gem or a favourite food stand, locals know the best (and most affordable) spots. It’s often tastier than tourist-centered restaurants and offers a more authentic experience. We haven’t been steered wrong yet although we did find ourselves on a very steep, windy road in Naxos to experience the best steak dinner of our lives (the story alone was worth the trip). For more on Naxos, check out our Good Eats post.

When you do eat out in a restaurant, breakfast and lunch will almost always be more budget-friendly, with all the same tastes. Or enjoy an early dinner and share some of the happy hour specials. Another idea we tried when we visited Europe for a month was the splurge dinner. In each of the cities we visited, we found a special restaurant we wanted to try and made a reservation in advance. We visited some of the most stunning places with great good, music and ambiance. It was a fun tradition, we even got all dressed up for each of these meals. For the remainder of the week, we kept it simple, making our food, going on a picnic or choosing less expensive dinner options.

Turn Food into an Experience

Another way to stretch your dollar without missing out on the local tastes is to build it into the excursions you book; like visiting a museum. Try a food tour or cooking class with the family. It is a great way to learn about the local food and get a great meal. While it isn’t always inexpensive, it is both an experience and a meal and still often costs less than the price of a restaurant meal.

Recreate the Memories Through Food

You can take this a step further and celebrate your trip with your friends and family back home by bringing home a few local delicacies and recreating your favourite meals. We did this after returning from Greece. We brought home some amazing olives and oils and planned a Greek meal about a month after returning home to share our favourite trip memories. It’s also a great way to get kids ready for something new by making some local recipes before you travel.

What’s Your Best Travel Budget Tip?

Saving money doesn’t mean skimping on experiences—it can actually enhance them! Do you have a favourite way to save while travelling?